What Young Americans Know About the World - (Taken from the National Geographic Roper Poll from 2006)
Despite near-constant news coverage of conflict in the Middle East, young Americans have a weak knowledge of the geography of this region. Six in ten (63%) cannot find Iraq or Saudi Arabia on a map of the Middle East, while three-quarters (75%) cannot find Iran or Israel. In fact, 44% cannot find even one of these four countries.
Results are linked to educational attainment: Young Americans with college experience are nearly four times as likely as those with only up to a high school education to be able to find all four of these strategic countries (23% vs. 6%).
Other hot spots in the news around the world also fail to register with 18- to 24-year-olds.
Nine in ten (88%) cannot find Afghanistan on a map of Asia.
Sizeable percentages do not know that Sudan and Rwanda are in Africa (54%and 40% answer incorrectly, respectively). In fact, 20% place Sudan in Asia and 10% put it in Europe.
Seven in ten (70%) cannot find North Korea on a map, and two-thirds (63%) do not know its border with South Korea is the most heavily fortified in the world.
Even natural disasters appear to have limited impact on young Americans awareness of the world.
Only a third (35%) correctly choose Pakistan from four possible choices as the country hit by a catastrophic earthquake in October 2005, killing over 70,000 people;1 29% think it was in Sri Lanka . these respondents are likely confusing the earthquake with the December 2004 tsunami.
Two-thirds (67%) can find Louisiana on a U.S. map and half (52%) can find Mississippi leaving a third or more who cannot find these states, in spite of months of intensive media coverage of the 2005 hurricanes and their aftermath.
Moreover, half (50%) cannot find New York State, even though it is the third most populous state in the union, after California and Texas.
Seven in ten (69%) young Americans can find China on a map . it is one of the few recognized countries outside North America. Yet even with a country as economically and politically dominant as China, young Americans have a number of misconceptions about China.
What Young Americans Know About the World - (Taken from the National Geographic Roper Poll from 2006)
Source: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/roper2006/pdf/FINALReport2006GeogLitsurvey.pdf
Take the 2002 National Geographic test and see how you compare:http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geosurvey/templates/question_1.html
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